[Tinaweena]

When we take Boone to the dog park and he enters into a full gallop...he kind of hops with his back legs. He picks them both up off the ground at the same time, they land at the same time. I guess it could be described as looking like a bunny's back legs, but not to that extent.
Now this isn't the long stride run, since he isn't going that fast...but he is running when this happens.
He never shows any pain, and doesn't limp at all...so I'm wondering, could this just be the way he runs, I know some breeds do that all the time when they run and it's characteristic of certain breeds.
Could it also have anything to do with the fact that he's running of snowy, iceish ground?

 

[Ronnie]

Fred does that hopping thing sometimes--mostly when he is chasing after a ball, but also when he is chasing after one of the 'critters' that live behind our house. Also--he doesn't do it when he is tearing around the yard at full speed in what we call his crazy dog mode. He can run incredibly fast sometimes. Anyway--he is 18 months and has had no leg problems.

Ronnie

 

[Tinaweena]

Ok thanks.....he runs normally with his front paws, just the back ones do this hopping thing. Usually when he's slowing down.
He does run around the house in "crazy mode" and I've never noticed it then.
He will be getting his "big snip" soon, and will have them x-ray his hips just to be sure.
Anybody have an idea how much this should cost? Just some x-rays.

 

[Jac]

Hi Tina,
I understand your concern. It is so hard to know what is caused by quirkiness and what is a possible concern...the best advice I would give, you are already considering...a vet visit about it. Getting hip x-rays is a good idea, I think, for most dogs because you can always use it as a baseline comparison later on, if needed.
I don't know how much OFA films are, I am sure someone else will let you know...I have not done OFA yet, but I do think it is less expensive than PennHip. PennHip can be done at 4 months of age though and OFA is done at 2 years. However, OFA can do a preliminary check and you can get a rough idea.
PennHip is pretty expensive. You can go to the PennHip web site and get names of vets in your area, then call them to see what they charge. My PennHip vet charges about $325. It costs a lot because they have to put the dog under anesthesia.

 

[jatangmd]

My doodle, Dave, also does that hopping thing with his back legs when he runs. I was concerned about hip dysplasia and got xrays when he was under for his neutering(at 6 months old). The xrays were read as normal, but as I understand it, hip dysplasia often won't show up on xrays until a dog is older (2 years old).

 

[Jac]

I'm sorry, I meant to post the PennHip site link:
http://www.pennhip.org/
Here is the OFA site too:
http://www.offa.org/
And, here is a forum topic string comparing PennHip and OFA:
http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/gsd/bul ... 36962.html
Here is a link to other possibilities for dogs limping:
http://www.2ndchance.info/limping.htm
Hope this helps!